Saloum Review
8.5/10
Saloum is a delightful shotgun blast of ideas. They don’t all hit the bullseye, but their audacity and commitment carry the film through to the end. I don’t have much experience with African films, so when I heard about this genre-defying Senegalese film I was fascinated to see it. I went in knowing nothing about the plot beyond the vague synopsis I read. What I got was one of the most gratifying films of the year. Saloum throws you into the deep end from the beginning. It gives us some narration with context for when and where this takes place. Right after that, we are introduced to the mercenary group Bangui’s Hyenas: Chaka (Yann Gael), Rafa (Roger Sallah) and Minuit (Mentor Ba). They are hired to extract a Mexican drug lord from Guinea-Bissau during the 2003 coup d'état in that region and take him to Dakar.
From the get-go, the Hyenas have a mythic quality to them. The narrator speaks of them as invisible warriors, rarely seen but always felt by the public. During their escape in a plane, there is a fuel leak, and they are forced to land in a remote area, Sine-Saloum. Here, they hideout in a secluded village where the residents are led by the suspiciously upbeat Omar (Bruno Henry.) He informs our three leads that everyone who comes here can stay for free as long as they contribute to the protection and well-being of the village. This can be anything from cleaning the bar to taking supplies to a nearby village.
Chaka recognizes Omar who does not remember him. This forms the tension that builds in the film. Chaka has nightmarish visions of his imprisonment as a small boy and is afraid of water. Rafa and Minuit want to leave this place as quickly as possible. They don’t trust the residents and soon start to become suspicious of Chaka’s insistence on staying here. One of the locals, a mute named Awa (Evelyne Ily Juhen) immediately distrusts these new residents. There is a tense scene at the dinner table where she talks in sign language to the men, telling them she knows who they are and threatens to expose their identities.
Saloum moves with a breakneck pace, never lingering too long on unnecessary details. The running time is a bit over 80 minutes, not including credits. This can make the details a tad overwhelming to take in if you’re not paying attention. There are specific cultural references mentioned in the later part of the film that I did not understand, but I like the fact that the film doesn’t spoon-feed us all the information in a patronizing way. It made me want to learn more about the world these characters live in.
One aspect of the film that is proven divisive is the genre switch in the last half. For much of the runtime, Saloum is a tense and exciting crime thriller, but then it changes and becomes a different beast, one that some are going to find way too out there and wild to engage with. For me, this new element elevated the film above its contemporaries. It takes a massive risk by pulling the rug out from under you. This change in style is not as random as it may seem. The whole film is interspersed with mystical and supernatural influences. The Hyenas are seen by people much in the same way Westerners may view Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. There is a distinct Western outlaw influence on the film, though here the film describes itself in the opening credits as a “Southern.”
Minuit is a shaman-esque man who blows drug-laced dust into people’s faces to knock them out. There is talk of the Hyenas being devils. The town they hide out in feels foreboding and eerie. There is a powerful sense of an otherworldly presence just on the outskirts, watching them. When the film makes that switch into horror territory, for me it felt earned and in line with the mounting dread. Some films take their time and ask questions about whether the horrors we are seeing are real or imaginary. They make the audience wonder if what is happening is in the heads of these characters or not?
I love that approach to storytelling if it is done well. Saloum had the option of going that route. The true nature of what is going on around these characters is hinted at initially, then it goes into a full sprint and expects you to catch up. I won’t spoil the details of what happens; it’s best to see for yourself if you are into it. If I had one main issue with the way the story shifts into high gear with the genre switch, it’s the special effects. They look pretty good for the most part and are convincing, but the designs of the supernatural terrors did not stand out as much as they could have.
It felt like the film was setting up some kind of massive showdown, but we never really got that. Instead, Saloum becomes more of a tale of survival and discovering the mystery of the land. The violence is quick and brutal without being gratuitous. If anything, for a horror film I was expecting more bloodshed. Even the most violent moments are never gross or gory for the sake of it. So, even if you are squeamish with little appetite for horror films of any kind, you will be able to enjoy the film without turning away.
Saloum is not perfect, the ideas can be messy and could have been done with more development. The speed run to the finish for some can be disorienting if you aren’t captivated by the direction of the story. What makes it work so well for me is how alive it all feels. A sense that everybody involved gave the film everything they had to create a unique and compelling story that is unlike anything else I’ve seen this year. It’s not easy to utilize multiple genre influences while still retaining a sense of individuality. You risk becoming a pastiche of various styles, but Saloum never does that.
Everybody in the cast is marvelous, but I want to highlight Yann Gael as Chaka. His performance is one of my favorites of the year. At first, I couldn’t tell where his character was going to be taken; he does not come forward immediately. As we learn more about him and his past, Gael brings a tremendous amount of charisma to the role. He is charming and personable when needed to win the favor of others. He uses this charm to gain the trust of Omar in particular. Beneath that warmth and jovial nature is a brooding intensity that is revealed throughout the film, one that I found captivating and engrossing. I’m looking forward to what the film’s director Jean Luc Herbulot does next.
